


You Take A Walk

by orphan_account



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Cecil is narrating your actions, Depression?, Gen, M/M, Somehow, Typical Night Vale Weirdness, You are the protoganist, also, and Cecil doesn't know he can go visit him yet, but Carlos is in the other-worldly desert, idk - Freeform, maybe? - Freeform, this doesn't belong to a specific episode, what does this freeform do there?, whatever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-26 05:18:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3838555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You take a walk. Cecil let's us know all about it. Also that this isn't about you, after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Take A Walk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [@Pik_in_Aspik [Mary]](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=%40Pik_in_Aspik+%5BMary%5D).



> Once again something I've written for a dear friend. (I had so little work to do today, so I wrote it at my working computer. I'm such a rebel. :3)  
> The Whispering Forest has only a cameo, somehow, but I hope you like it anyway, Mary.  
> And all the other readers too, of course.
> 
> Enjoy!

You take a walk.

You’re not from Night Vale, but you pretend you are. It’s a nice thought. It’s a nice thought because it’s not the truth.

In this very moment, you are a Night Vale resident. You live somewhere in Night Vale, maybe with another person from here, maybe alone. It doesn’t matter. You are a Night Vale resident, and you take a walk.

You take a walk.

You pass City Hall. From inside the building you hear howling. But you know that this is normal at this time of day – you’ve lived here all your life, after all. Behind the dark windows you see movement, but you don’t look again. You’re not allowed to. You’ve never got in trouble with the SSP, and you don’t plan on doing so. Quite the opposite: You’re only one stamp away from a full alert citizen card.

You pass the old warehouse near Big Rico’s where the ever-glowing neon sign reads

**_TOTALLY NOT THE NEW SECRET LOCATION OF THE NVSSP_  
OPEN 25/7**

and wonder if the officer who, once every month, checks if the teachers at the High School use computers, got the promotion they applied for a few weeks back.

It’s nice being from Night Vale. You know so many people.

You do know _me_ , too, of course. Everyone does. Even if I sometimes doubt that anyone ever listens to my broadcasts. Sometimes all of you seem so far away …

But back to you. You are from Night Vale.

And you take a walk.

You pass the lab that’s been empty for almost a year now.

One year.

_One year later …_

You pass the lab. From time to time some of the scientists enter the building to get some of Carlos’ notes – which he made, of course, with made-shift pens, not forbidden ones! He would never do that – but they never stay for long. You saw them come and go on a few occasions as you ate at Big Rico’s, starring out the window. They miss him, you think. They simply can’t stay longer than a few minutes because this place reminds them too much of him, you think.

Science doesn’t protect you from feelings.

There’s no cure if you suffer from thinking.

You pass the man in the tan jacket. He is holding a deer skin suitcase. You can hear the buzzing coming from inside. It’s okay – he’s a flies salesman. You smile at him because you like his face, but now you’re a few steps away and can’t remember what he looks like. You want to turn your head to look again, but you don’t.

You go on.

You take a walk.

You pass stones and a frozen yogurt shop. You pass the Night Vale stadium which is, of course, closed, unless today is the 10th of November. I don’t think it is.

But time is weird. Right? Right.

You pass stones again. You pass a black Sedan. You pass a lot of sand. It’s everywhere, actually. You’re walking on sand at this exact time.

You’re near the city boundary now. The sun doesn’t burn down as hot as it did in the middle of the town. You’re standing in the shadow of a huge tree. There isn’t only this one tree. There’s dozens more. Hundreds more. Nature just doesn’t know when to stop. It’s pretty rude, to be honest. There used to be desert at this exact place. And these trees just took its space away.

Ugh. Trees.

You take a walk.

Your feet move, and you move with them. They know exactly where to go. They guide you deeper into this group of trees. They guide you deeper into the Whispering Forest.

You’ve heard of it. Of course you have. Everyone in Night Vale has. You are a Night Vale resident. You’ve never been here, though. Not until today.

The trees are quiet for several minutes. You stop walking and just stand there. You enjoy the whispering of not the trees, but the wind.

But then there’s the other whispering, too. The one you wanted to hear.

_Ohhh, you cut your hair, didn’t you? And … did you color it? It looks amazing. You’re just as pretty as a film star._

_Yes, and the color does in fact look very natural! Well done._

_You obviously know exactly which clothes to combine. You have such a good taste in fashion._

_And your eyes! They shine so bright._

_Indeed they are … You may think eyes are just … well, eyes, but … a few months back there was this guy with the really disgusti-_

_Shhht! … Sorry. They are new._

_… Anyway, you’re a delight!_

You smile a little. But you had hoped you would smile a little more. The last weeks have been rough. You've been through a lot.

Is this the way to deal with hard times?, you ask yourself. Standing in a forest and listening to its shallow compliments?

No. It is not.

Even if your hair does indeed look fantastic.

You turn and start walking away. Not only is this the wrong way to deal with emotions, but also do your feet start itching, and you know the deal. You know what would happen next. And life can be hard, yes, but becoming a tree seems like a very drastic decision you're not ready to make.

You take a walk. And you walk away.

And while you're walking away, let us be honest, shall we?

You are not from Night Vale. Times have been rough, yes. But a town that is not your own will not solve your problems. In fact, not even your own town will solve your problems. That's your task alone. Nobody can take this from you.

Let us be honest.

You should probably go out more. 

Your happiness is not a person.

You should get back into your almost forgotten hobbies.

You should sleep more and drink less.

You're out of the town now. You are not from Night Vale. That's the best thought of all.

And let us be honest.

You were never here. This is not your town.

But it's mine.

I'll take a walk, later today.


End file.
